As the great Albert Einstein said, time is relative. Turning up a few minutes late to a meeting might be considered as a hideous social faux pas in one country, but a perfectly normal and acceptable behavior in another.

In many respects, South Korea is a very ordered society. The influence of Confucian principles runs through every aspect of day-to-day living. Well, in theory, at least. Central to this is Kibun*(Korean), the concept of saving face. As a result, confrontation is to be avoided at all costs and one way to avoid any unpleasantness is to be on time, all the time. And to be lax in this regard is to mark oneself out as a cad and a bounder.

02.

日本：火車晚點一分鐘就算遲到

日本這個國家除了干凈以外，守時也是出了名的。遲到往往意味著要低聲下氣地道歉和深深地懺悔。

Gamble with：以...作賭注

Tardiness：延誤

Groveling：低聲下氣的

Despite being famous for their high-rolling gamblers the Japanese just don't gamble with time, where tardiness generally results in groveling and sincere expressions of deep regret.

In the case of Germany, however, being on-time is a risky enough tactic as your hosts will probably already be there waiting, wondering how on earth you could be so foolish as to allow the possibility of some unforeseen circumstances delay you by so much as a second.

Some countries don't give timeliness a priority in their societies and Saudi Arabia appears to be one of them. It could be that the lack of importance attached to timeliness is as a result of their long history of desert living where punctuality doesn't figure highly on the list of everyday priorities. It could be that it's too damn hot to do anything at pace.

By all accounts, Ghanaians are a very relaxed and accommodating people who reckon that if everyone is late then no one is late. After all, what can't be done today can get done tomorrow. If you find that kind of attitude difficult to deal with, prepare to be annoyed. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the ride.

When in Greece it is worth remembering that Greeks ‘pass’ the time as opposed to ‘use’ it. In other words, time is something to be enjoyed rather than fretted over. As such, it is not unusual to arrive 30 minutes later for a dinner party. However, this laxity does not extend to business meetings where visitors are expected to be on time. As you might have guessed, the same rule doesn't always apply to your Greek hosts.

It is often said that Malaysia has a very loose attitude toward punctuality in both the personal and professional sphere. Talk to any expat who has spent time there and they might grumble in agreement. However, this is to overlook the oft-times chaotic traffic and malfunctioning public transport that many Malaysians have to deal with on a daily basis.

It has been said that in Brazil, there is a widespread tolerance for delays. For example, it is considered impolite to arrive on time for a social occasion. That is probably due to the fact that it is unlikely the hosts would even be ready to receive their guests! Having said that, if you are a visitor to the country and have an important business meeting, it's probably best not to do as they do because, not being Brazilian, you haven't earned the right to be on anything other than ‘English time’.